Bottom line

The
Pentax K-3 -- Pentax's top-of-the-line model -- wins awards as the most full-featured prosumer DSLR
camera on the market. With great performance, excellent image quality and superior
handling, the rugged K-3 is a semi-pro camera that successfully competes with
its Canon and Nikon rivals.

Ease of use

Controls need practice. The Pentax K-3 looks
like the less expensive Pentax K-5 II(Est. $925 (with kit lens))
, but it's slightly
bigger and heavier. The K-3 is designed for the more experienced DSLR user and
its more than 30 external controls reflect this, with quite a few of them
having more than one function. This results in a learning curve for those
coming to the K-3 from simpler, entry-level DSLR cameras. The onscreen control
interface is "enthusiast-friendly," which another reviewer calls
"relatively unrefined."

Performance

Excellent all-around performance. From the Pentax K-3's fast startup time of one second, its
performance and photo quality are just excellent. One reviewer says, "We
really can't think of anything bad to say about the new Pentax K-3." Noise
doesn't kick in until ISO 1,600, and becomes more apparent at higher ISO
settings when looking at images at 100 percent on the screen. Color is accurate
throughout the entire ISO range, and users can turn the anti-aliasing filter on
or off to increase crispness and detail. In tests, night photography allows for
the capture of light in all situations. The one downside is the contrast
autofocus system, which some users found to be rather slow.

Durability

Fully weather-sealed. The Pentax K-3 has a
compact, solid body made of lightweight magnesium steel alloy on a stainless steel
alloy frame. The K-3's body is full-size and designed for "normal hands."
Using a system of 92 special seals, it provides a fully weather-sealed and
dustproof environment, and its cold-resistant construction will withstand
hostile outdoors conditions down to minus-10 degrees Celsius.

Features

Top of the Ricoh line. The Pentax K-3 is the
top-of-the-line DSLR offered by Ricoh. It has Ricoh's most sophisticated 27-point
autofocus system and its largest viewfinder. However, the LCD screen is less
innovative than that of some rivals, being fixed and not a touch screen.
There's an anti-aliasing simulator that can be turned on or off, and 10 ISO
settings. For creativity, Digital Filters apply special effects to images and
Custom Image options -- preset combinations of sharpness, saturation, contrast
and color tone settings -- can be customized to your needs. The Pentax K-3 also
offers a multi-exposure mode that allows you to combine between two and 2,000 different
JPEG or RAW images into a single photo.

Winning
PhotographyBlog.com's highest award nets the Pentax K-3 a maximum rating of 5 out
of 5 stars, with full marks for image quality and value for money. Mark Goldstein
places the K-3 firmly in the semi-pro market and says it's easily the best
video DSLR Pentax has to offer.

Winning
PhotographyBlog.com's highest award nets the Pentax K-3 a maximum rating of 5 out
of 5 stars, with full marks for image quality and value for money. Mark Goldstein
places the K-3 firmly in the semi-pro market and says it's easily the best
video DSLR Pentax has to offer.

The
Pentax K-3 wins the DPReview.com 2013 Readers' Choice Award for best digital SLR
camera. There's uncharacteristically only a brief review of the K-3 here, but
editors say it is an "extremely capable addition to the market," and
they can't think of what Ricoh could add to the camera.

The
Pentax K-3 wins the DPReview.com 2013 Readers' Choice Award for best digital SLR
camera. There's uncharacteristically only a brief review of the K-3 here, but
editors say it is an "extremely capable addition to the market," and
they can't think of what Ricoh could add to the camera.

Reviewers at Imaging-Resource.com stress the newness of the Pentax
K-3, calling it revolutionary and not evolutionary when compared to previous
Pentax DSLR cameras. They consider the most significant feature to be the
"impressively-clever on-demand optical low-pass filtering system."

Reviewers at Imaging-Resource.com stress the newness of the Pentax
K-3, calling it revolutionary and not evolutionary when compared to previous
Pentax DSLR cameras. They consider the most significant feature to be the
"impressively-clever on-demand optical low-pass filtering system."

Replacing the Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs at the top of Pentax's
range, the Pentax K-3 is a "tempting choice" for both enthusiasts and
professionals. This is mainly due to its quasi AA-filter design, which lets the
user select whether to use the anti-aliasing feature.

Replacing the Pentax K-5 II and K-5 IIs at the top of Pentax's
range, the Pentax K-3 is a "tempting choice" for both enthusiasts and
professionals. This is mainly due to its quasi AA-filter design, which lets the
user select whether to use the anti-aliasing feature.

The new Pentax K-3 is Ricoh's flagship DSLR and has a
"breathtaking array" of features, says John Riley. The K-3 throws
down a challenge to more expensive professional DSLR cameras, and photographers
looking for a rugged, all-weather, well-rounded camera need look no further.

The new Pentax K-3 is Ricoh's flagship DSLR and has a
"breathtaking array" of features, says John Riley. The K-3 throws
down a challenge to more expensive professional DSLR cameras, and photographers
looking for a rugged, all-weather, well-rounded camera need look no further.

Jim
Fisher says the Pentax K-3 takes the best of the Pentax cameras and adds in the
best-yet autofocus system and burst-shooting mode. The K-3 wins an Editors' Choice
award, with just some minor complaints noted. Fisher says the K-3 is better
than the previous winner in the high-end category, the Nikon D7100.

Jim
Fisher says the Pentax K-3 takes the best of the Pentax cameras and adds in the
best-yet autofocus system and burst-shooting mode. The K-3 wins an Editors' Choice
award, with just some minor complaints noted. Fisher says the K-3 is better
than the previous winner in the high-end category, the Nikon D7100.

With
just more than 25 reviews on Amazon.com, the Pentax K-3 DSLR camera is not the
most popular choice on the website. However, the average rating is 4.9 stars out
of 5, so users are very satisfied with their purchases. No one rates it below a
4.

With
just more than 25 reviews on Amazon.com, the Pentax K-3 DSLR camera is not the
most popular choice on the website. However, the average rating is 4.9 stars out
of 5, so users are very satisfied with their purchases. No one rates it below a
4.

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